From our Music Captain

y Year 7 self wouldn’t have believed me if I told M her that I would be Music

Captain in 2021. As a timid Music student in my earlier years at

Loreto, I would often play quietly in ensembles so that I couldn’t be heard over the older girls who, in my eyes as a 12-year-old, could play as skilfully and confidently as the likes of Bach or Mozart.

Although I was afraid to talk to these older girls, they were not afraid to talk to me. They would turn around from their spot at the front of the ensemble to crack jokes with me in the row behind, make conversation down in the music cells after rehearsal while we packed away our instruments, and call out to me from the other end of the corridor while walking to class. Soon, the cheerful and exuberant spirit of the Music family at Loreto influenced me. Six years later, there I was. I was now an

‘older girl.’ And, funnily enough, I was Music Captain.

Throughout my time as Music

Captain, I concluded that the best way to represent music at

Loreto would be from within the community, rather than above it. By organising the singers for various liturgies while also playing the piano accompaniment alongside them. By encouraging girls to join music ensembles while also being committed to attending rehearsals with them. I often found myself relying on the ‘older girl’ blueprint as I fostered the spirit of younger students. As such, I created a remix of my earlier years at Loreto; only now I was the one turning to the row behind me to crack jokes during rehearsal, I was the one encouraging girls to play louder, and I was the one calling out to younger girls between classes. Many people may forget that music has the power to not only offer joy to the listener, but also the performer. This was realised in this year’s Music Festival, where Eliza (Performing Arts Captain) and I hosted the evening,

themed ‘Illumination of the Heart’. Rehearsing in fear of being unable to hold an in-person event once again, we were lucky enough to ultimately escape COVID restrictions.

We witnessed extraordinary musical talent across a range of acts, including a marimba solo, the school orchestra, and the winning Mornane House Choir who performed Panic! At The Disco’s ‘High Hopes.’ The evening displayed a distinctive atmosphere, the thought of “what-may-not-have-been” only propelled every girl to perform with the utmost spirit and passion. We soon realised just how lucky we were as a four-month COVID lockdown was established only a week later. Symbolically, this also meant that Music Festival was the last time I would ever play in an ensemble at Loreto.

This boundless display of spirit reminded me of what it means to be an ‘older girl’ at Loreto. To me, this is what it means to leave a legacy. The older girls before me created the blueprint for girls to adopt when their inevitable time as an older girl arrived, consequently passing the notable Loreto spirit

through generations. Therefore, the 2021 Music Captain is not just me alone. It is the names of the “older girls,” and the countless “older girls” before them, who had led music at Loreto with a great soul, and an even bigger heart. I would like to thank Ms Sarah Ashton, Acting Head of Music, for supporting me greatly throughout the year, and I also extend a big congratulations to Maddi Campbell as she takes on her role as Music Captain for 2022.

“Music has the power to not only offer joy to the listener, but also the performer.”

Vivien Li Music Captain